"It depends on the Jews themselves whether this political pamphlet remains for the present a political romance. If the present generation is too dull to understand it rightly, a future, finer and better generation will arise to understand it. The Jews who wish for a State shall have it, and they will deserve to have it."—PrefaceTheodor Herzl's passionate advocacy of the founding of a Jewish state grew out of his conviction that Jews would never be assimilated into the populations in which they lived. Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1860, Herzl encountered anti-Semitism when he attended a scientific secondary school. Later, as a newspaper correspondent in Paris, he was shocked and dismayed by the anti-Semitic prejudice surrounding the notorious Dreyfus affair (Herzl said in later years that it was the Dreyfus affair that had made a Zionist out of him). Herzl concluded that the only solution for the majority of Jews would be organized emigration to a state of their own.He discussed the political and historic rationale for such a homeland in this extraordinary and influential book, first published as a pamphlet, Der Judenstaat, in Vienna in 1896. The Jewish question, he wrote, was not a social or religious question but a national question that could be solved only by making it "a political world question to be discussed and settled by the civilized nations of the world in council." In 1897, at a world congress of Zionism, he declared, "We want to lay the foundation stone for the house which will become the refuge of the Jewish nation. Zionism is the return to Judaism even before the return to the land of Israel."The present volume is a complete and unabridged republication of The Jewish State, reproduced from the edition published by the American Zionist Emergency Council, New York, 1946. Translated by Sylvie D'Avigdor, it includes an introduction by Louis Lipsky, and a biography of Herzl based on the work of Alex Bein. For Jews, scholars, historians, anyone seeking to understand the history of the 20th century, The Jewish State is indispensable reading. This edition makes it widely available in an inexpensive high-quality format.

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"It depends on the Jews themselves whether this political pamphlet remains for the present a political romance. If the present generation is too dull to understand it rightly, a future, finer and better generation will arise to understand it. The Jews who wish for a State shall have it, and they will deserve to have it."—PrefaceTheodor Herzl's passionate advocacy of the founding of a Jewish state grew out of his conviction that Jews would never be assimilated into the populations in which they lived. Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1860, Herzl encountered anti-Semitism when he attended a scientific secondary school. Later, as a newspaper correspondent in Paris, he was shocked and dismayed by the anti-Semitic prejudice surrounding the notorious Dreyfus affair (Herzl said in later years that it was the Dreyfus affair that had made a Zionist out of him). Herzl concluded that the only solution for the majority of Jews would be organized emigration to a state of their own.He discussed the political and historic rationale for such a homeland in this extraordinary and influential book, first published as a pamphlet, Der Judenstaat, in Vienna in 1896. The Jewish question, he wrote, was not a social or religious question but a national question that could be solved only by making it "a political world question to be discussed and settled by the civilized nations of the world in council." In 1897, at a world congress of Zionism, he declared, "We want to lay the foundation stone for the house which will become the refuge of the Jewish nation. Zionism is the return to Judaism even before the return to the land of Israel."The present volume is a complete and unabridged republication of The Jewish State, reproduced from the edition published by the American Zionist Emergency Council, New York, 1946. Translated by Sylvie D'Avigdor, it includes an introduction by Louis Lipsky, and a biography of Herzl based on the work of Alex Bein. For Jews, scholars, historians, anyone seeking to understand the history of the 20th century, The Jewish State is indispensable reading. This edition makes it widely available in an inexpensive high-quality format.

From the Inside Flap

A call for the Jewish people to leave Eastern Europe and emigrate to, preferably, Palestine, or Argentina in the late 1800s.

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I wish Israel put more effort into communicating how early Zionists were modern, secular thinkers, influenced by Diderot, Naigeon and other enlightenment thinkers. Reading books by, and about early Zionists has helped me see how Israel is a modern, secular democracy that is mistakenly seen as a regressive theocracy. It is true there is an minority of Jewish religious zealots. They had little to do with the establishment of modern Israel. Israel needs to do more to let the world know it is not a regressive Jewish theocracy. Pictures of old men in black hats praying at the Wailing Wall makes the country look like a Jewish version of Iran. Israel needs to project images that inform the world of its modern, secular values. This book helped me see many of my prejudices regarding Israel were wrong. So did books by and about David Ben-Gurion and Golda Meir. I would never have guessed these three people were atheists.

"The Jewish State," was the means by which author, Theodor Herzl, rallied world Jewry to the cause of establishing a national homeland for his people. Published in 1896, this little pamphlet ignited age-old passions among Jews the world over and began the drive for the establishment of the first Jewish State in 2000 years. By doing so, Herzl set in motion events that monopolize the world's attention today.In "The Jewish State," Herzl outlines the plan for establishing his state. In a logical, step-by-step process he defines how the land would be colonized, financed, and administered. Palestine and Argentina are suggested as possible sites. However, Palestine emerges clearly as the desired locale for spiritual and emotional reasons. Anyone trying to establish a state could use this pamphlet as a guide. Yasser Arafat should be given a copy!Emerson said that American colonists fired, "the shot heard 'round the world," at Lexington and Concord. Herzl fired a similar shot by publishing "The Jewish State." He, no less than the colonists, started a revolution by his actions. Both ultimately achieved their goals of establishing a state for their peoples. However, America did not have to endure a Holocaust to facilitate an exodus to our shores; unfortunately, Israel did.Today, the Jewish State exists in the form of modern Israel. Born out of controversy, this state exists as a prosperous, democratic entity, in the midst of numerically superior and extremely hostile Arab states. Jews have their home, but they have to fight daily to keep them. Is this what Herzl envisioned? Did he do the world a favor by establishing his state? The verdict is still out. One thing is clear. The roots of the current controversy that has American soldiers fighting in Afghanistan can be traced back to Israel, and Israel's roots can be traced to Herzl's pamphlet. Reading, "The Jewish State," is therefore essential to understanding current events. I strongly recommend it to any serious student of Middle Eastern affairs.

Herzl's writings and activity got the push for a Jewish State going. This pamplet is an overly optimistic approach to starting a new Jewish state circa just pre-1900. Very little of Herzl's ideas actually ever came about to fruition from what I understand about history, and its a good thing too, otherwise Israel would probably be communist today. The further I read, the more sad I became as I considered how only something as horrible as the Holocaust could bring the Jewish population of the world back into their traditional land. However, Herzl's purpose was exactly to prevent persecution of the Jews. The only prophetic thing in this book was his speculation that some Jews would need to go through a little more suffering before they came around to the idea of a Jewish state. No one could contemplate the "Final Solution" however. Herzl's Utopian-like ideas were interesting solutions to many problems the future nation of Israel would actually face.You will learn something from this book if you are either a student of History or the Bible, but don't expect a short read.**UPDATE** I've upped the book an additional star after I've let it soak into me for a while. The pure historical importance of this document makes it a must read in today's troubled world. I've also thought about how Herzl just let his mind work through all the hoops of creating a new society from scratch, and admire him for putting it to paper.

In response to the poor situation in which most European Jews lived, Herzl formulated his ideas on modern political Zionism. "The Jewish State" serves as a basis for the reunion of the Hebrew people as Herzl invisioned it. All Zionists and Jewish scholars/historians should become familiar with the principles of Zionism as outlined here by Herzl. "The Jewish State" played a highly significant role in begining the pioneer emegration which later led to the establishment of Israel. It is also quite interesting to compare Herzl's orignal thoughts and ideas with Israeli society, the fruition of his work.